Devils sign Eric Gelinas to two-year, $3.15 million deal
Defenseman Eric Gelinas no longer needs to worry about getting a contract done in a timely manner with the Devils.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, New Jersey inked the young restricted free agent blueliner to a two-year $3.15 million deal. Earlier in the offseason, Gelinas told NJ.com that he didn’t want negotiations to drag out like they did last summer. He signed a one-year $900,000 contract right before training camp. Thankfully for Gelinas, former general manager Lou Lamoirello isn’t in charge to play contract hardball with any of his players anymore.
Via Fire and Ice:
“They were talking for a while, so I was just waiting for my agent to give me some news and they told me today that they agreed on the terms,” Gelinas said. “Obviously, I'm more comfortable with a two-year deal. It's a nice little bridge deal. I'm really happy to have agreed before arbitration also. I'm really happy with the deal.”
Gelinas did file for salary arbitration, but clearly that’s a non-issue now. A 2009 second-round draft pick,Gelinas is just 24 years of age, and his potential goes through his howitzer of a shot, says In Lou We Trust:
It's so powerful, I've given it a nickname: The Truth. More importantly, Gelinas has used it quite a bit. He has 237 shots, which translates to an average of 1.94 shots per game. As one would expect with that kind of shot, he's been a regular on the Devils' power play. Eight of his eighteen career goals and eighteen of his thirty-five career assists have come from the man advantage. At a minimum, he's carving out a career as a specialist of sorts.
What's been dubious about Gelinas is that he hasn't displayed enough of the other aspects of being a NHL defensemen to command a larger role.
Two years ago he had 29 points in 60 games. This past season he had 19 points in 61 contests. He was at plus-1.46 CF relative and had a CF% of 48.68 according to war-on-ice.
Now new general manager Ray Shero needs to take care of signing Adam Larsson, another young Devils blueliner who filed for arb.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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